Global Christian attitudes towards transgenderism "softening", study suggests

A mapping exercise examining the positions of major Christian denominations on transgender identities suggests that a growing number of Churches around the world are taking an inclusive approach towards trans people and communities. The ministry and marriage of transgender Christians has as often been grudgingly accepted as positively embraced, mostly within the last decade, and frequently in the face of significant unease of internal opposition. Nevertheless, there is growing momentum for change. Duncan Dormor A growing number of Christian denominations, particularly within Protestant traditions, are softening their stance on transgenderism and embracing trans people as congregants and ministers, a new study suggests. While the Church in general has a reputation for intransigence on questions of gender and sexuality, the research, which mapped the official positions of different denominations around the world, points to "a slow, sometimes grudging, but growing momentum for change among Christians within Protestantism especially." The Church of England, Lutheran denominations in Scandinavia, and numerous Churches in the United States are described as leading the shift towards a state of broad-based acceptance in which trans people are able to minister, teach and marry in their affirmed gender. At the same time, the study acknowledges that the Catholic and Orthodox Churches remain officially opposed to transgenderism. "The overwhelming majority of the 2.1 billion Christians in the world belong to Churches which are officially unsympathetic to the claims of transgender people," it observes.